Brakes Slammed on California’s Clean Air Vehicle Decal Program

It was nice while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end… apparently.

California’s Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal program once allowed qualified vehicles usage of designated carpool lanes along the state’s highways and interstates, regardless the number of vehicle occupants. It was a great privilege and the program afforded a profound impact upon roadways as well the carbon footprint within densely populated regions. 

As of the writing of this post, the federal regulation which once allowed single-occupancy CAV usage in carpool and HOV lanes will expire on September 30, 2025.

Thus, as of October 1, 2025 any vehicle displaying the CAV decal and operating in carpool/HOV lanes with a less than the minimum number of vehicle occupancy will be subject to tolls and possible citation. 

For more details about this subject, please refer to the California DMV article at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/news-and-media/federal-government-ends-clean-air-vehicle-cav-decal-program/.

There also is information offered on how to get involved to urge the federal government to reconsider this decision, on the DMV webpage above.